Dowry death

Dowry deaths are the murders or suicides of women, caused by attempts by her husband and/or her in-laws to extort a larger dowry. In India, every one hour and fourty minutes, a woman is killed by her husband or in-laws because of dowry extortion; 5,000 women die each year. Often, husbands or their in-laws would murder the wife in order to make the husband available for a new marriage, and, therefore, a new dowry. Among the poor and middle class, a dowry is seen as the in-laws' financial gains, not as the bride's inheritance. Raising enough dowry for daughters is a struggle for brides' mothers, and, in some cases, the beatings would start when the dowry payments ceased. Many of these instances of abuse are unreported, as assault is illegal, while the bride's family are concerned about the stigma that might arise ffrom reporting such incidents. In addition, abuse victims can be thrown onto the streets if they report their husband and in-laws' abuse of them. Special women's police units have been set up to deal with dowry-related abuse and murders. From 1979 to 1997, 80,000 women were killed by their husbands or in-laws in dowry-related incidents, and it became known as India's greatest unpunished crime.